Bonnie, From Behind
by Nate Grey
Summary: When Tara asks Bonnie why she hates Kim, she gets a very unexpected answer. Complete. Prequel to The Primal Primate.
1. Default Chapter

Notes: I've seen a lot of Bonnie stories, ranging from her secretly loving Kim to actually hating her. Personally, I could go either way, but for the sake of this story, it's hate. Not for the reason you might think, though.

I'm aware the title could have a connotation that's sexual in nature, but that wasn't my intention. Although I will admit this story was inspired by another where Bonnie and Tara do become lovers, but that's not _really_ relevant here.

**Warning: This story took an unexpected turn. At least one character considers suicide, though there are no gory details.**

Summary: When Tara asks why Bonnie hates Kim Possible, she gets a very surprising answer.

**Bonnie, From Behind**

**A Kim Possible Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

Tara did not consider herself a dumb blonde. Admittedly, she was confused from time to time, but wasn't everyone? She'd met plenty of blondes that clearly WERE dumb, and while she could understand the stereotype, she didn't much care for it.

Aside from that, Bonnie had instilled way too much personal pride in her. Tara had mentioned dying her hair only once, and Bonnie had given her such a lecture on being proud of who she was that the idea had simply never occurred to her again.

She wished more people could see that side of Bonnie. No one ever did.

This, however, was largely Bonnie's fault, although Tara would never say so out loud. Bonnie was almost a completely different person in public. And that person was mean, obnoxious, and downright snippy.

Fortunately, Bonnie hadn't been that person when they'd first met. Well, she had, but she'd also been a whole lot nicer.

They first met at a summer cheerleading camp. Bonnie had been one of the best (along with Kim Possible, of course), and she'd known it, which made her a bit difficult to approach. Kim was much more friendly, and Tara had even spoken to her a few times. The conversations were pleasant enough, but Kim was never far from Ron Stoppable, who was unfortunately never far from his own mouth.

Tara suspected Ron would've been a great guy, if only he lacked that mouth. Because every time she got within ten feet of it, it had this tendency to open and say things that made Tara wish she didn't have ears. It was either a tired pickup line, or a thinly disguised "compliment" that would've made a lesser girl slap him silly. How Kim put up with it, she never could understand. But then, Ron never hit on Kim. Which was pretty odd, but anyway.

Tara was an okay cheerleader at the time. Good enough to get into the camp, but not enough to take home any trophies. So instead of making friends like she normally would've, she'd only worked her butt off. And she'd caught some attention, just not the kind she'd been hoping for.

One of the counselors had noticed her struggling, and he had pulled her aside to offer some one-on-one coaching. Eager to get better, Tara had accepted the invitation to join him in his cabin. She quickly discovered that he was less interested in improving her moves, and more interested in touching her. Then he'd implied that the only way she would get ahead was if she did him a few special favors. It was a slap in the face that made Tara realize he'd never really wanted to help her. Although the slap in the face that followed her refusal hurt a lot more. She'd struggled valiantly, but he'd overpowered her.

That was when Bonnie had kicked the door in, pulled the jerk off of her, and broken his nose. Twice, if her guess was right.

Ever since, Bonnie had been Tara's personal idol. And, somewhat reluctantly at first, Bonnie had taken Tara under her wing, turning her not only into a better cheerleader, but a more confident person overall. If anyone had tried to cop a feel now, it would've been Tara who broke his nose this time. She'd only do it once, since she was still too nice for Bonnie's tastes, but she could and would defend herself, and that was what really mattered.

As far as Tara was concerned, Bonnie was a hero. Bonnie didn't think so, but she took all the praise she could get, so she quickly got used to Tara following her everywhere. After all, it wasn't as if she had any real friends that truly liked her. All she had was people who liked being associated with her, or more accurately, her public image...and then, of course, there was Tara, who simply liked her.

Bonnie hadn't been sure what to make of that, at first. No one had ever really liked her before. Out of curiosity, she'd deliberately hurt Tara's feelings a few times, just to see if she'd react like everyone else. But Tara always forgave her, eventually, and went right back to following her around. She was kind of like a puppy, really. Tara craved Bonnie's attention and support, just like any good puppy would. She came running when Bonnie called, and they almost never disagreed on anything. Except Bonnie's treatment of Kim Possible.

Tara could completely understand why Bonnie didn't care for Ron. She was at a loss when it came to Bonnie's hatred of Kim, though. Maybe Kim wasn't the best judge of character, but was that really any reason to not like her? Tara didn't think so, and if Bonnie had simply not liked Kim, or not cared whether she existed or not, that would've been different. But Bonnie clearly hated Kim for some unknown reason or reasons that she would never go into.

Bonnie had refused to answer the first seventy-five times Tara had asked. Maybe the seventy-sixth time would be different.

* * *

Tara put down her lemonade and looked across the table. "Why do we hate Kim?"

Bonnie's eyes narrowed as she put down her own lemonade. "If you have to ask, then 'we' obviously don't. Only I do."

"So, why?" Tara asked with a shrug. "You never did say, exactly."

"You know I don't like to talk about Kim."

"But WHY?" Tara insisted. "She's not even really mean, unless you say something to her first. And you've always believed in revenge."

"Don't want to talk about it," Bonnie replied, standing up.

"C'mon, just give me a hint, Bonnie!" Tara pleaded as she followed her friend out of the mall's food court. "I'll figure it out on my own!"

"No," Bonnie said firmly, her voice little more than a growl.

"Please?" Tara tried, looking hopeful.

"NO."

Tara pouted. "I thought we were friends."

Bonnie stopped, sighing loudly. "We are."

"Then why won't you tell me?" When Bonnie didn't answer, she tried another approach. "Who else COULD you tell?" Tara was relieved to see that Bonnie was actually thinking it over.

"No one," Bonnie admitted slowly.

"So tell me! It's not good to keep stuff bottled up inside, Bonnie. Especially if you feel so strongly about it."

"Later," Bonnie said after a moment.

"When?" Tara asked.

"Later today. Now stop bugging me."

Tara beamed and slipped her arm through Bonnie's. "Consider yourself bug-free."

Bonnie scowled, but allowed Tara to lead her out of the mall and toward the bus stop.

Tara seemed perfectly content for a while. But after only five minutes, she turned to her friend and pointed out, "It's later."

"Not yet," Bonnie snapped. "Much later."

Tara pouted again, but Bonnie refused to be swayed a second time. "You're no fun when you're thinking about Kim."

"Well, I didn't bring her up," Bonnie replied testily.

"Sorry," Tara murmured.

But Bonnie wasn't listening anymore. She was staring off into the distance, where she could hear the faint sound of police siren, steadily growing louder...and closer. Something like strong desire flashed across her face, but she hid it before Tara could notice, shoving her trembling fists into her pockets.

By then, Tara had noticed the sirens, too. Crime in Middleton wasn't nonexistent, but it wasn't all that common to witness one, either. And there was always the chance that Kim might be involved, so when Tara saw that Bonnie was trembling slightly, she assumed her friend was thinking the same thing.

"Why don't we just walk home?" Tara suggested, taking Bonnie's arm. "Suddenly I don't feel like waiting on the bus."

Bonnie flashed her a quick, grateful smile as she stood up. "Sure."

They hadn't gotten far when there was a loud screeching noise behind them.

Tara looked over her shoulder to see a car zooming around the corner, followed immediately by several police cars. The getaway car had to be doing at least 70 miles per hour, and she was amazed it didn't seem to have hit anything yet. Tara turned to ask Bonnie what she thought the driver had done wrong, only to find that Bonnie was no longer beside her. She looked around quickly, concern for her friend foremost in her mind, and spotted Bonnie...standing in the middle of the street, very much in the car's way.

"BONNIE!" Tara screamed, starting forward to push her out of the way. She'd only just reached the curb when Bonnie stamped her foot. Instantly, Tara found herself landing painfully on her butt. It was almost as if Bonnie had made the ground shake, but that didn't make any sense.

Although it started to make a lot more sense, the way Bonnie was staring down the oncoming car without even a hint of fear.

The car made no move to avoid her, and if it had, maybe it would've gotten away. Instead, it plowed straight into Bonnie.

Tara covered her eyes, unable to watch. There was a horrible crashing sound, followed by two surprised shouts. And then someone was scooping Tara off of the ground and carrying her away. She opened her eyes to find herself in the arms of a slightly sweaty Bonnie.

"Bonnie?" she asked hesitantly.

Bonnie glanced down at her and kept running.

Tara slowly reached up and picked a small piece of metal out of Bonnie's hair. It was bent almost double.

"Remember when I said we'd talk later?" Bonnie said lightly.

Tara nodded slowly.

"Now we have a lot more to talk about."

Tara swallowed noisily and kept her mouth shut. Something told her Bonnie would be doing nearly all the talking in the near future.

* * *

Bonnie was searching for her keys with one hand when Tara finally spoke in a hushed tone.

"You could put me down now, if that would help."

Blinking, Bonnie realized that she was still balancing Tara's weight on one arm, and that it was probably freaking her friend out. She carefully placed Tara on her feet and quickly located her keys.

Neither of them said a word as they headed up to Bonnie's room.

Bonnie sat down on the bed, staring at the floor. She was only vaguely aware of Tara sitting next to her.

"So...how come you're not hurt?" Tara asked quietly. "That car did hit you, didn't it?"

"I am hurt," Bonnie whispered. "Just not as much as I should be."

"I don't understand."

Suppressing a sigh, Bonnie poked Tara's shoulder with her finger.

So Tara was a bit surprised when she was practically thrown off of the bed. "HEY!"

Bonnie grabbed Tara's flailing arms before she could hit the floor, and pulled her back to a sitting position on the bed. "I can increase the strength of virtually any part of my body. But I only have so much strength to spare. So if I focus it all on one point, like I did there, I could probably punch through a bank safe. But if I spread it out, like I did with the car, I can only absorb so much impact. It's kind of a dull ache now, but it'll be worse tomorrow, I think." She frowned. "Maybe I should've just punched it and taken my chances."

"Bonnie...how long have you been like this?" Tara asked softly.

"Remember that really weird thing where I was stuck to Kim? Ever since then. I think that freaky machine we were tied to did something to me. Either that, or it just triggered something that was already there."

"But I've never seen you do anything like that before."

"Because it's not something I do often," Bonnie replied. "It really wears me out. That, and I don't want to be seen using it."

"So that's why you were all twitchy before. And why you ran away."

"And why I HATE Kim Possible," Bonnie growled.

Tara blinked. "Why? You don't think she wanted this to happen to you?"

"It's not that." Bonnie clenched her fist. "She saves the world every other day, using nothing but gadgets and natural talent. And everyone calls her a hero. But if I was seen using my powers even once, they'd call me a freak and toss me in some government lab for study."

"But that's not fair!"

"No, it isn't." Bonnie closed her eyes. "So that's why I hate her. Because I ultimately envy the freedom she has to do whatever she wants. It's petty, I know, but it's so unfair that I can't sleep sometimes." She sighed heavily. "I could do so much, if I only had one day in her shoes...one hour, even."

Tara thought for a moment. "Wait. You didn't like Kim long before that happened."

Bonnie shrugged. "I just really didn't like her then. Now I hate her."

"So why not just tell her? If these powers bother you so much, maybe she knows someone that can turn you back to normal."

"Are you nuts? I'm not going to tell her! She'd probably try to get me thrown off the cheerleading squad, because she'd claim I was using my powers to be better than her!"

"That doesn't sound like something Kim would do. I think she'd feel too guilty, if you told her how you got them."

Bonnie shook her head. "No. Besides, I don't want to be rid of my powers. I just want a chance to use them, without having to be afraid. They come in handy sometimes."

Tara frowned. "So...you hate Kim because she doesn't have to be afraid?"

Bonnie nodded. "Could we not talk about this anymore? It's giving me a headache."

"But, Bonnie," Tara said, "don't you see? You're so much better and stronger than Kim is!"

"Of course I am," Bonnie muttered. "I'm about ten times stronger than her. Well, eight, since she's above average."

"That's not what I mean. Okay, picture this. Kim saves the world all the time, so she must be plenty strong, right?"

"...you had better be going somewhere with this, Tara."

"I am," Tara assured her. "As strong as Kim is, though, she doesn't have to hold back. You're eight times stronger than she is, and you never even show it. In my book, your restraint makes you even stronger than her. Because while you could do all the things she does and ignore all the consequences, you choose not to." She gently squeezed Bonnie's shoulders. "It's one thing to be strong enough to punch through a bank safe. But how much stronger do you have to be, knowing you could do it, and deciding you won't?"

"You're just trying to cheer me up. It doesn't change the fact that I should be the hero, not Kim."

"But you ARE a hero, Bonnie. You're my hero. You always have been, ever since you saved me. And you didn't even have powers then."

"But you and that jerk are the only ones that know," Bonnie pointed out.

"So? Who knows the real Bonnie better than me?" Tara asked with a grin. "If it means that much to you, I could make you a little cape."

Bonnie glared at her. "Very funny."

"I could put BB on it. For Bionic Bonnie!"

"Stop it, Tara."

"What? You might need a costume, if you ever have to use your strength in public."

"No. I don't want anyone to know there's a girl with superhuman strength in Middleton. They might make a lucky guess. Or worse, they might think it was Kim. That's the last thing I need."

"Well, you could always dress up like a guy."

"I'll just pretend you didn't say that, Tara."

"It would work! If they were looking for someone with Brick's build, they'd never think it was a cheerleader."

Bonnie stood up and stomped over to the window. "Kim doesn't have to dress up like a guy. I shouldn't, either."

"She doesn't have any powers, Bonnie."

"That we know of. With my luck, she can probably make lasers come out of her eyes."

Tara sighed. "Now you're just being silly. Which is better than you being depressed, I guess."

Bonnie scowled at the window. "Maybe I should just go out there and let myself get caught. Then I wouldn't have to worry about hiding anything."

Tara didn't say anything.

"I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. Not being the best, not being popular, and not being like Kim Possible. I'd be free from every sort of pressure, at least for a little while." Bonnie turned around to ask Tara what she thought, but the question never got asked.

Tara was staring at her in horror, tears flowing down her face.

"Tara?" Bonnie asked uncertainly.

"How could you even consider that?" Tara whispered. "You...you'd just leave forever, just like that? What about your family?" She choked down a sob. "What about ME?"

Bonnie flinched as if she'd been struck.

"Don't you even care how I'd feel if something that awful happened to you? Why do you think I tried to get you out of the street today?"

"I...I didn't mean..."

"Yes, you did!" Tara cried, standing up. "You meant every word, Bonnie! I wouldn't be this upset unless you did!" Tara looked away, wiping futilely at her face, even as the tears continued to leak through her fingers. "I don't know what hurts more. That you would do something like that without even thinking of how it would hurt me, or that you did think of me, but didn't think enough of my feelings to let them stop you."

"Tara, please," Bonnie pleaded. "You know that's not-"

"I only know what you just told me," Tara whispered. "That my friendship means nothing to you." She spun around and started for the door.

Bonnie grabbed her arm. "Tara, stop it! Don't leave like this!" But when Tara tried to pull away, Bonnie instinctively found her strength increasing as her fingers tightened around Tara's arm.

Tara gasped in pain and surprise as Bonnie's fingers dug into her arm.

That seemed to wake Bonnie up, because she instantly let go. "Tara...I'm sorry," she said softly.

"For what?" Tara demanded.

"For hurting you," Bonnie admitted.

"Bonnie, you don't get it. You hurt me every time you put someone down who doesn't deserve it. You hurt me when you act so mean, when I know deep down you're wonderful. And you hurt me whenever you talk about yourself like you don't matter at all." Tara looked at the red fingerprints on her arm. "But even this hurt less than what you just said to me. So I have to go. And if you ever cared about me, you'll let me. I can't be around you when you're like this. Not anymore."

Bonnie bit her lip as Tara quickly left the room. She sank down on the floor and drew her knees up to her chest. A memory kept running through her head, of a time when she'd told Tara, without thinking, that she had no real friends. Worst of all, after what she'd done to Tara, Bonnie was starting to think that maybe she'd been right.

* * *

Kim was not in the habit of watching Bonnie for any reason, other than suspected treachery and the occasional cheer drill. Every now and then, she had to grudgingly admit that Bonnie was a damn good cheerleader, if nothing else.

Today, though, Bonnie was way off, and Kim resisted the strong urge to call her on it. Something was clearly wrong with her, to the point where Bonnie had to know she was screwing up. She didn't need it pointed out to her, especially not by someone she loathed.

So Kim kept her mouth shut, more out of pity than anything else. Had it been any other girl on the team, she would've gone over, told her what she was doing wrong, and offered suggestions on how to correct it, all while still being polite and not shoving her authority down her throat. Kim was responsible for the whole team, after all, and that included Bonnie. But this was partially why she was civil to the other girls, so she could trick one of them into dealing with Bonnie.

Tara was the obvious choice, since she and Bonnie were usually joined at the hip. But Kim soon noticed that Tara was upset, too, although she hadn't let it worsen her performance like Bonnie had. She'd even paired up with another girl for the drills, which was odd, to say the least. Something was really, really wrong with this picture.

Kim waited until after practice had ended before she approached Tara in the locker room.

Tara was seated on a bench, putting her cheerleading outfit into her bag. She saw Kim coming, and quickly brushed at her face before giving Kim her full attention.

Kim could tell right away that Tara had been crying. "Tara, is everything...?" She trailed off and started again. "Is there anything I can do?"

Tara opened her mouth, and then shut it, shaking her head.

"Did something happen between you and Bonnie?"

Tara squeezed her eyes shut in an obvious yes.

Kim hesitantly sat down beside her. "Look, I know we don't exactly run in the same circles or anything, but if you need to talk about this..."

"Can I ask you a really weird question?" Tara asked.

"Sure," Kim replied.

"Can you shoot lasers from your eyes?"

Kim stared at her. "...no."

Tara sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. "I made the mistake of asking Bonnie why she hated you again."

Kim gaped at her, but only for a few seconds. "I'm sorry."

"It's not even really your fault," Tara said, shaking her head. "At least, I don't think so. The real problem is between me and Bonnie."

"Maybe you shouldn't mention me anymore?" Kim hazarded.

Tara offered a sort of choked laugh. "I guess not."

"Would it be too personal if I asked what happened?"

"If I was Bonnie, I'd say definitely. But I'm not her, so..." Tara swallowed noisily. "She told me that she envied you for different reasons, and that was why she hated you. Then she started sounding like she...like she wanted to end it all."

The color drained out of Kim's face. "What?"

"I got really upset, of course. I guess she realized what she'd said then. But it was too late. Just the thought that she would consider doing it...it was like saying she never cared that I cared about her."

Kim couldn't think of any way to respond.

"She'll be so pissed that I told you," Tara laughed nervously. "Maybe I'm jealous of you, too."

"Why?" Kim asked, surprised.

"Bonnie swears she hates talking about you, but she spends so much time trying to get you. If she focused on me that much, maybe I wouldn't be here telling you all of this. Maybe then she'd know how much I..." Tara closed her eyes and stood up.

"Tara?" Kim asked in alarm.

"I need to find Bonnie, before she does something stupid." With that, Tara hurried out of the locker room.

Kim sat there for a long time afterwards, staring at the forgotten bag on the floor. Finally, she picked it up, put in Tara's locker, and closed the door. She had only taken two steps when Bonnie's voice rang out.

"You handled that pretty well, Possible."

Kim didn't turn to face her, afraid of what she'd see. Part of her still didn't want to pity Bonnie, even after what she'd heard. "How am I supposed to react to something like that?"

"I'm amazed you're not jumping for joy."

Kim gritted her teeth. "I bet it's things like that that make Tara wish she didn't care about you." When there was no reply, she turned to see Bonnie glaring at her. "Bonnie, I don't know what your problem is, and I don't care. Whatever it is, it's hurting Tara, and she doesn't deserve it."

"So you're going to protect her from me? Is that what you're saying? Anything to be the hero, huh, Kimmie?"

"It's got nothing to do with being a hero, and everything to do with being human, Bonnie. You're not supposed to hurt the people that care about you. Or were you doing your makeup when they taught that?"

"You shut up, Possible! You don't know the first thing about me!"

"You're right, Bonnie," Kim admitted. "But from what I hear, these days you're only interested in the last thing about you."

"She shouldn't have told you that."

"But she did," Kim pointed out. "Maybe she was asking me to stop you?"

"You think you could, if I really wanted to do that? What could you possibly say to me?"

"Plenty. I could ask you what you think Tara would do, if she was the one to find you first."

Bonnie blinked. She hadn't considered that.

"I can take a guess," Kim continued. "Based on what I've seen, Tara idolizes you. If she doesn't want to be like you, then she just wants to be with you. And if you were to do that, Bonnie, there's only one way she could follow you." She lowered her voice. "Do you really care so little for Tara that you'd let her end it, too? Even I thought better of you than that. I think Tara used to, as well."

Bonnie closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. When she looked again, Kim was gone.

* * *

Tara had gone to Bueno Naco half-hoping Kim would follow her. If Bonnie was in a really rotten mood, she might go after Kim just to try and embarrass her in public.

So far, there was no Kim, although she'd spotted Ron and his little rat (who she secretly thought of as remarkably clean) at their usual booth. Tara had chosen an out of the way booth, as she didn't really feel like running into anyone but Bonnie just then. Unable to think of anything else, she'd ordered two lemonades, but couldn't bring herself to drink either one.

Roughly ten minutes later, two strong arms slid around her in a tight embrace.

"I won't let you leave me, Tara."

Tara could hardly believe that Bonnie would resort to a public display of affection, let alone that she'd even showed up.

"Leave you? Bonnie, what are you-"

"You're my best friend," Bonnie interrupted firmly. "My only friend. The only friend I ever really needed. And I don't care if you hate me forever, but I'm not letting you go."

"Where is this coming from?" Tara asked uncertainly.

"Does it matter, so long as it's true?"

"But...you were mad. I saw you. So why?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I just figured out what was really important to me. That's all."

"But what's all this talk about me leaving you?"

"You were going to, weren't you?" Bonnie asked fearfully.

Tara shook her head. "Not really. At least, I hadn't planned on it. I just needed some time to be mad at you, if that makes any sense."

"It does, but you sounded so serious."

"Well, I was serious. I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again, Bonnie. You really scared me. I thought you were the one leaving."

"I won't," Bonnie whispered, hugging her tighter. "I need you too much."

"Then you should say so more often," Tara replied. "I'll promise not to leave you, if you promise me the same thing."

Bonnie nodded. "I swear I didn't mean to make you worry, Tara."

"I know you didn't," Tara said softly, laying her head against Bonnie's. "But we can put that behind us now."

"Is...this a bad time?"

Bonnie looked up to see Kim Possible standing in front of their booth. A look of pure irritation on her face, Bonnie opened her mouth, but Tara slapped a hand over it.

"What is it, Kim?" Tara asked.

"Um, you left your bag after practice, so I put it in your locker."

"Oh. Thanks!" Tara flashed her a sweet smile. "I was just telling Bonnie what a good listener you are, and how you convinced me to have a serious talk with her. Right, Bonnie?"

Kim didn't look as if she believed that one bit, especially with the angry look on Bonnie's face. She was glad that Bonnie was keeping her mouth shut for once, if only involuntarily. "Oh, I'm sure Bonnie knows all about my mad listening skills," Kim said.

Tara looked puzzled, and Bonnie looked embarrassed, then grateful, and finally furious again.

"I'll just leave you two alone to talk, then," Kim murmured, backing away with a friendly wave.

"Thanks again, Kim!" Tara called out before releasing Bonnie.

"I still hate her," Bonnie snapped.

"Sure you do," Tara said soothingly, with just a hint of disbelief. "Now drink your lemonade."

The End.


	2. Ron, In Reverse

Notes: Because someone out there thinks I don't like Ron. Okay, so I've given him a bum rap more than once. I've read stories where he's been hunted down like an animal, tortured, beaten within an inch of his life, and left for dead. The worst I've done to Ron is had Kim mad at him, and they got over that. I daresay I've treated him better (or at least more gently) than others have. But just so I don't completely alienate the Ron lovers, I did this additional chapter, which serves as a nice lead-in for my upcoming series ALL ABOUT RON (and Tara & Bionic Bonnie).

**Ron, In Reverse**

**A Kim Possible Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

"Maybe we should be nicer to Bonnie."

It was such an odd statement coming from his best friend that Ron had to put down his chimmerito and give her a good looking over. She didn't LOOK crazy, at least; just more thoughtful, and perhaps just a wee bit guilty.

Rufus was just as confused, because he darted up Kim's arm to her shoulder, where he pressed a tiny paw against her forehead, searching for fever heat. Finding none, he turned to Ron and shrugged.

"What brought this on, KP?" Ron asked, sensing that this might be serious.

Throwing an uneasy glance over her shoulder, Kim quickly gave him an edited, five-minute version of what Tara had told her earlier. She left out phrases like "suicide" and "end it all," but Ron was able to determine what she meant she described Bonnie as being "very, VERY depressed."

"Wow," Ron said softly. "Bonnie? I can't believe it. She's always so…"

"Surly?" Kim offered.

Ron frowned at her. "I was going to say full of life."

"You're being generous," Kim countered. "She's mean and she treats people like dirt. It's just weird to think that she might feel that way herself. Or that someone like Tara would see the good in her."

"Not really. She saw the good in me that time at Camp Wannaweep." He even managed to say the dreaded name without shuddering…much.

Kim smiled faintly. "You did save the day and all. Heroes are supposed to get the girl."

"I bet you'd settle for Josh Mankey, though," Ron replied, just barely dodging as Kim threw a balled-up napkin at him. "What? You'd prefer a girl instead of a free ride next time?"

"Don't make me come over there, Ron Stoppable. I had to restrain myself with Bonnie today, and I could use an outlet to vent all this frustration. You're looking more and more like the best person for the job."

"Does this mean we're going to the gym so you can kick me for an hour again? Because that's not as much fun as it might seem."

"I have fun," Kim pointed out. "Don't you?"

"At least Bonnie's insults don't hurt the next morning."

"Just think of it as my way of toughening you up," Kim suggested.

"Yeah. I can see how Shego might break her fingers when she punches one of my scabs of steel."

"You can't think I enjoy hurting you?" Kim asked, blinking at him. "Ron, those are love taps compared to what Shego would do, or what I'd use on her!"

Ron winced. "Well, I gotta say, KP, I wish you didn't love me so much. And how come I never get to express my 'love' for you, huh?"

Kim grinned. "Oh, we don't need to do that. I know you love me. It's why you let me kick you. Besides, you couldn't hit me if you tried."

"You think so, huh?" Ron raised a fist, only to be hit full force with- "ARGH! Not the puppy-dog pout!"

"Told you," Kim giggled.

"Someday, I'm going to find a counterattack for that, and THEN you'll be sorry!"

"Sure. But until then, our next stop is the gym."

"Aw, man…"

* * *

Almost overnight, Bonnie had grown to resent the fact that she had a six-foot shadow.

She'd been used to it for the longest time, of course. Cheerleaders always dated jocks, and the more popular ones usually came in taller packages. Brick Flagg was no exception, but as Tara had pointed out more than once, many jocks, Brick included, were good for little more than keeping the sun off of Queen Bonnie's back. And since she was currently inside, all Brick had managed to do was give her serious personal space issues.

Unfortunately, he was not so easy to get rid of. Tara had made the mistake of allowing Brick to overhear that Bonnie "was going through a rough time, and needed support." And so the shadow service had begun in earnest, with most of the jocks probably thinking that Bonnie would literally collapse if she didn't have some solid, hulking mass behind her at all times.

In truth, Bonnie's "rough time" had passed with little incident, as far as she was concerned. She'd been seeing a psychiatrist for nearly a week now, and had thoroughly convinced her that the episode had been a one-time error in judgment and nothing more. She had fielded every other offer of concern in her usual way: unless you got paid to console troubled people, Bonnie didn't want to hear it.

There had been no such offers from Kim Possible, of course. Bonnie hadn't expected them, either, and Kim hadn't let her down in that department. Although she was quite puzzled by the way Kim had been unwilling to trade insults with her anymore. Sure, she'd hit a momentary rough spot, but she was past it now, and surely Kim knew that. But the redhead continued to pass her in the halls without a word, barely even a glance most days. And if it had been out of spite, Bonnie would've welcomed it. But she had a disturbing feeling that it might actually be out of pity, and that was the last thing she wanted from Kim.

You didn't pity rivals, you kicked them when they were down, then pointed and laughed. But even that was losing its appeal, since Kim's only reaction to such treatment now was a blank stare and a hasty exit.

All of which left Bonnie in a sour mood, compounded by the fact that Tara had an early doctor's appointment and wouldn't be in school until after lunch. Which meant that the only company she had until then was Brick, which also identified the contents of his head quite well, Bonnie decided.

He was still blathering about something when Bonnie closed her locker, turned around, and began to tell him for the third time that her stating "Back off, bonehead" didn't mean take three steps back, it meant leave her the hell alone.

That was when she spotted Ron Stoppable.

Normally, this wouldn't really have meant anything…except that Stoppable was clearly headed straight for them, though Bonnie couldn't even begin to imagine why. She'd heard Brick brag about stuffing him in lockers or putting more craters in his face than the moon, and surely Stoppable had enough sense to know that you didn't go anywhere near Brick Flagg if he took even a passing interest in rearranging your face.

Well, at one time such a thing might've been entertaining to Bonnie. But lately, senseless violence was just boring to her, and she knew Brick would pound Stoppable just for walking past them. What amazed her was that HE didn't seem to know that, or care, anyway.

She almost grabbed Brick's arm (which would no doubt only further doom her to his continued presence) and dragged him away, but before she could turn thought into action, Stoppable strode up, and to her shock, stopped in plan sight of them both.

"Hey, Bonnie, Brick. Nice morning we're having, isn't it?" And with that usual lopsided grin, no less.

He was a dead man.

Brick began to crack his knuckles, an ominously loud sound in the mostly empty hallway. "I see I didn't pound enough sense into you last time, Stoppable."

The grin faded a bit, but only enough to become slightly crooked now. "Hey now, there's no need to get violent, Brick. I was just saying good morning." He began to say something else, his eyes shifting to Bonnie, but that was when Brick's meaty fist caught him in the jaw, with enough force to send him slamming against the lockers.

A horribly empty feeling rose in Bonnie's stomach, and she started to tell Brick to cool it, that Stoppable wasn't worth it. Brick may have been a brainless oaf, but if he thought a fight would upset Bonnie in the slightest, Stoppable might still be able to walk away from this without a black eye.

Actually, he just might be able to walk away, period.

Only Stoppable didn't have the usual reaction that most people did after getting hit by Brick. He blinked, and for a mere second, Bonnie saw something like murderous rage in his eyes. But then, in an instant, it was gone, and Stoppable worked his mouth, trying to make sure his jaw was still in place.

Brick took that as further insult, and swung again.

The only problem being that Stoppable had long since moved. Bonnie hadn't seen him move, so much as there was a reddish blur of motion, and suddenly, Stoppable was between them, staring at Brick's back. It was the perfect chance to kick Brick in the crotch, or to flat out run like mad.

Naturally, Stoppable just stood there, and when Brick turned around, Bonnie could see that the rage was now in his eyes.

"Oh, you are SO dead," Brick muttered, cocking back his fist again.

* * *

The funny thing about Mystical Monkey Power, Ron was starting to find out, was that it sometimes chose the wrong time to surface. Surrounded by a hundred monkey ninjas bent on his destruction, now THAT was the perfect time for some monkey magic.

But against a blockhead like Brick, there was no real point. This was the natural order of things. Jocks dated cheerleaders and beat up outcasts. It was just what they did, what they had always done. And Ron had always taken his beatings with as much dignity as he could.

To upset Brick by laying him flat in the hall would turn the natural order upside down. It just didn't happen. It would also draw too much attention to Ron, especially where the other jocks were concerned. Then he'd have to fight them all off, and end up using the monkey magic again. And again. And again, until there was no difference between monkey ninjas and jocks for him, and then he would start using it on just anyone who upset him in the slightest. Then, he'd be no different from Monkey Fist.

The problem was that Mystical Monkey Power didn't have an on/off switch. Ron liked to think of himself as a bottomless well. Each punch was just a drop, and he could take plenty. That was before the monkey magic, though. Now, it only took a single drop to fill the entire well, and when it was full, the beast came out.

Or it would've, if Ron had been so inclined to let it run wild all over Brick's face. Instead, he held it back as much as he could, because if Brick saw the beast, it could very well end up being the last thing he saw with two eyes. However, Mystical Monkey Power had a way of leaking through his fingers. Maybe he wouldn't take Brick's head off, but his body was insisting on not taking any additional hits if it couldn't return them, and he had little choice but to listen.

So when Brick's fist began to rush at his face again, Ron was well out of the way. And suddenly found out that he was just too fast for his own good.

He was now beside Brick, which gave him a great view of where Brick's fist would end up.

Buried in Bonnie Rockwaller's face.

Even if Ron hadn't remembered Kim's "be nicer to Bonnie" speech, he wouldn't have let the punch land. Bonnie was a cheerleader, after all, and people would notice if she'd taken one of Brick's fists to the face. Aside from that, she was incredibly vain, and any damage to her face might cause her to do something drastic.

Again.

And while Ron didn't consider himself Bonnie's number one fan, he couldn't let Brick hit her. Not when it could very well send her into a downward spiral that she might not ever recover from.

It wouldn't have taken much effort to simply grab Brick's fist and bring it to a halt. But he'd already used lightning speed once, and he didn't want to add superhuman strength to the mix; one of them might notice. There was really only one solution.

Ron sighed and stepped back into the path of Brick's fist, as if he'd never left it, lining up his face just right, before shutting his eyes.

It didn't really hurt, not backed by monkey magic as he was. It was, in fact, much more difficult to keep from breaking Brick's arm in every possible way. But Ron was used to suppressing such urges, so he thought he had a good handle on it.

So when something that felt like steel smacked his right elbow, sending his fist flying out to land a wild blow in Brick's stomach, he could do little more than stare in shock as Brick let out a low moan and dropped to the floor, banging his head on the lockers along the way.

Ron wasn't sure what had gone wrong, but he was suddenly intensely aware of Bonnie's head resting lightly against his neck, and her hands on his left shoulder and right elbow. It was not an unpleasant sensation, just a very unexpected one.

"Uh…Bonnie?" he asked quietly. "You okay?"

"Need a…minute," Bonnie murmured softly, her breath tickling his neck. "Shouldn't have…" She trailed off and began to sink slowly to the floor.

Ron whirled around grabbed her by the waist. "What's wrong, Bon-Bon? You don't look so good." He paused for a moment, considering the inaccuracy of that statement. Bonnie ALWAYS looked good, even when she was panting and sweating like she was now. Actually, ESPECIALLY when she was panting and sweating like she was now. But this didn't seem to be the good kind of panting and sweating, if the paleness of Bonnie's normally tan skin was any indicator.

Bonnie still had a bit of spirit left, because she scowled at Ron and tried to push him away. "Leggo…'m fine…" She lacked her usual strength, both in the force of her words and physically, so neither did much good.

"Okay, for the sake of argument, let's say you are. So if I let go, you should be fine." Ron let go.

Bonnie swayed uncertainly on her feet, and then pitched forward, right back into Ron's waiting arms.

Ron shook his head and smirked. "Either you're not fine, or you're crushing on me hard. Which is it?"

Bonnie turned a brilliant shade of red and muttered something completely unintelligible.

Ron had a feeling he wouldn't have wanted to hear it, anyway. "If you don't even have the strength to deliver insults clearly, no way you're fine." Without really thinking about it, he scooped Bonnie up into his arms (despite her weak, mumbled protests) and headed for the nurse's office. She was much lighter than he'd expected, either due to his monkey magic-induced strength or Bonnie's severe dieting habits.

There was really only one thing that bothered him. He'd barely felt Brick's last punch, but his elbow was throbbing like crazy.

* * *

By the time they reached the nurse's office, Bonnie stopped questioning why Stoppable had helped her. She was now officially of the opinion that he was one of those simple idiots who had no trouble helping his enemies. A very fast one when times called for it, but still a simple idiot.

It only took a few minutes for the nurse to proclaim Bonnie too exhausted to begin the school day, much less finish it (which Bonnie had already known). She was ordered to go home at once, though she was not to drive herself.

But Bonnie immensely enjoyed the freedom that driving her own car provided, and she wasn't about to give it up just because some nurse told her to. At least, that's what she was thinking when she emerged from the nurse's office, only to run right into Stoppable again.

"Bon-Bon! You're okay?" he asked anxiously, actually having the audacity to look concerned.

"What do you care, Stoppable?" she snapped.

"If I didn't care, I would've left you on the floor with Brickhead," Ron pointed out. "It sounds like you're back to normal, at least. So what'd the nurse say?"

"None of your business. You did your good deed, now get out of my face."

Ron grinned. "Ex-squeeze me? That is good deed number TWO, Bon-Bon. First I saved you from a guaranteed black eye, and then I carried you to the nurse. Which means you owe me."

Bonnie opened her mouth to disagree, then decided against it. "Fine. But make it quick. I am not wasting any more of my free day on you than I have to."

"You got out of school? You must really be not okay, then." Ron shot her that lopsided grin again. "In that case, allow me the honor of escorting you to your chariot, milady," he said, bowing grandly.

"Yeah, whatever," Bonnie muttered. "Just make sure you walk at least twenty steps behind me at all times."

"No can do, Bon-Bon. You pass out again, I'm gonna need to be within ten steps to keep you from denting that pretty little head of yours."

"Not from what I saw earlier," Bonnie noted, walking off.

Ron ran to catch up with her. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean."

"Uh huh. Like super speed is standard among dorks."

Ron blinked. "Uh…super speed?" He forced a nervous laugh. "That's crazy, Bonnie! You're crazy!"

"Oh, I don't think so. And I think Brick would agree with me, once he wakes up. Of course, he'd agree with me, anyway, but-"

Without warning, Ron leaped into her path. "Listen, Bonnie, it wasn't super speed! I've just been training with KP, and it's paying off! That's it, I swear!"

"Much as I don't like her, I might be inclined to believe you…except that I've never even seen her move that fast. Face it, Stoppable: you're busted."

Ron was just about to start begging her not to tell when something hit him. "Hey, wait a sec. I wasn't the only one pulling super stunts this morning!"

"Now who's talking crazy?" Bonnie asked.

But Ron was looking certain now. "Something hit my elbow HARD, and made me hit Brick. Funny how your hand was on my elbow right after that, huh? And I bet that's why you nearly fainted right after! You can't control it completely!"

"You can't prove anything," Bonnie said confidently, starting to step around him.

"That's where you're wrong," Ron replied as he deftly stuck his foot between her legs.

She was falling before she realized it, but not before she could do something about it. Her hands hit the floor first, saving her from a very nasty bruise. Her eyes narrowed as she angrily leaped to her feet. "You jerk! When I'm done with you-!"

"I'll be in the same condition as that poor floor?" he asked innocently.

Bonnie glanced down and gasped. There were two small but obvious hand-shaped craters in the floor. She'd used her powers without even realizing it, and had pushed right through the tile.

"Call me crazy, Bon-Bon, but that's not standard for cheerleaders, not even for THE cheerleader. And since you used two hands instead of one this time, I'd guess you're going limp in 3, 2, 1…"

She wanted to slug him, but he was right; she was already weaving on her feet. It occurred to her that she might not be able to make it home in this condition. She could pass out behind the wheel, or her reaction time might be too slow to avoid other cars. Of course, to do any of that, she first had to GET to her car, and that was looking like a pretty bad prospect from where she stood (for the moment).

Ron caught her before she could topple into the lockers. "I suggest we call a temporary truce, so we can form a compromise of sorts."

"What do you want, Stoppable?" Bonnie asked, without much of her usual venom in the words.

"Neither of us says anything to anyone about what happened today. At least, not about powers, since we're both trying to hide them. I'll make sure you get to your car without falling flat on your face, and all you have to do is convince Brick not to cream me for the rest of the week. Do we have a deal?"

"How can I be sure you won't blab to Kim?" Bonnie demanded.

"Because if you found out, you'd be upset. And if you were upset, you might do something that I'd never be able to live with. I'd have ruined two lives because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. That's how you know I won't tell KP."

Bonnie was surprised to see that he actually looked sad. Then she glared at him. "Kim told you!"

Ron shrugged. "Well, she had to. Just her saying 'be nicer to Bonnie' seemed really weird, for her."

"Nice? NICE? She's being nice to me? That's why she won't snap back at me anymore?" Bonnie asked in disbelief.

"What did you expect?" Ron answered, frowning. "Bonnie, you and Kim don't get along, but that doesn't mean she wants you dead. And definitely not like that. You really worried her when you talked like that." He added in a softer tone, "You worried me, too."

"And you think being nice is going to fix everything?"

"No. But I figure since you seem to like snapping at us, there's no better way than to be nice and really piss you off. I'd rather get a rise out of you than not have you around anymore. I'd miss you, believe it or not."

Bonnie stared at him for a long moment, and then whipped her head away. That was NOT moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes, it just couldn't be.

"So. We got a deal?" Ron asked quietly.

Bonnie sniffed and raised her head. "Let's just go already." She started forward, but suddenly found herself cradled in Ron's arms again. "Stoppable, put me down!"

"Can't let you fall and sprain something," Ron pointed out as he started walking. "KP wouldn't wanna beat you that way. Besides, we're cheer squad elite. Gotta stick together and all that."

Bonnie glared at him, unable to think of a proper comeback in the face of all this…niceness.

Ron just shook his head. "I'll never understand why the prettiest girls are determined to look so mean."

Red flooded Bonnie's face, and she looked down. He did have a point. The meanness wasn't getting a rise out of him today, and he was obviously stuck in nice mode no matter what she did. Maybe it was time to just sit back and milk this being virtually helpless thing for as long as she could.

If either of them noticed when her head came to rest against his shoulder, neither one did anything about it.

* * *

Tara hopped out of the car, then turned and waved as her mother drove off. She was just about to head into the school when she spotted something…odd.

Bonnie Rockwaller and Ron Stoppable were thumb wrestling in Bonnie's cherry red convertible.

She took in this sight for several moments, watching Ron pin Bonnie's thumb at least twice before approaching them. "Um…guys?"

Bonnie looked up at once, seeming slightly embarrassed, but Ron pinned her a third time before hitting Tara with one of his lopsided grins.

"Bon-Bon's sick," Ron said, earning a shove for his efforts. "Hey, you are! The nurse said!"

"Sick?" Tara asked, instantly worried. "Sick how?"

"Exhausted sick," Ron replied at once, perhaps sensing what she was worried about. "She fainted in the hall. Twice."

"The second time was YOUR fault!" Bonnie insisted hotly.

"If she's exhausted, why are you two thumb wrestling?" Tara asked.

"Passing the time," Ron explained. "And trying to build her strength back up. Slowly."

"Plus Ratty Ron here can't drive me home, and I'm too tired to do it myself," Bonnie muttered.

Tara blinked. "What about Brick? Couldn't he do it?"

Ron chuckled nervously. "He's kinda unconscious. More so than usual, I mean."

Tara couldn't help it, she giggled. She'd forgotten how funny Ron could be sometimes. That, and it was always funny to watch Bonnie try to defend Brick, since she'd used most of the insults about him herself.

So it was a little odd when Bonnie didn't say anything at all.

"Anyway," Ron said after a moment. "We figured, hey, since you already missed half the day, you might as well drive Bonnie home and miss it all. The Ronster will, of course, collect any and all assignments you missed and deliver them promptly."

"That means he wants your phone number," Bonnie translated, causing Ron to go bright red.

"Sure," Tara said, surprising all three of them. "Got a pen?"

* * *

Kim was in the middle of a naco when she raised her head, frowning thoughtfully. "Hey, Monique?"

"Yeah, Kim?" Monique asked.

"Do you hear…music?"

Monique blinked. "I think so. It almost sounds like…a heavenly chorus?"

The doors to Bueno Nacho flew open, and the loud music that followed Ron in almost shook the walls themselves. He strode majestically (and in slow motion, no less) over to the table where his female friends were sitting.

"Ladies," he said pleasantly, with a polite incline of his head.

Kim and Monique looked at Ron, and then at each other.

"Bad guacamole?" Kim guessed.

"Bad guacamole," Monique agreed.

Ron shook his head. "Ladies, there is a simple explanation to your queries."

"And that would be?" Kim asked.

Ron thrust his right hand under their noses and cried, "THE RON-MAN GOT THE DIGITS, BAY-BEE!"

Kim and Monique looked down, and sure enough, there was a phone number written in permanent black marker on his palm, accompanied by a smiley face and a surprisingly legible 'Tara'.

"You got Tara's number?" Kim asked in surprise.

"How?" Monique demanded.

"Being nice to Bon-Bon," Ron replied smugly, winking at Kim.

"And how did you manage that?"

"Beat her three falls out of five."

"…what?" Kim and Monique asked in confusion.

Ron grinned, plopped down next to Kim, and stole the rest of her naco as he began to tell his tale.

* * *

"I thought you weren't crushing on Ron anymore," Bonnie said after Tara had been driving for about ten minutes.

Tara turned red, but glanced at Bonnie. "I thought you were still calling him 'Stoppable' as of this morning."

It was Bonnie's turn to blush. "So I changed my mind."

"Guess I did, too," Tara replied. "So, what'd I miss? Anything interesting happen at school? The part of it you were there for, I mean?"

"I'm dumping Brick. He was trying to pound Ron and nearly hit me."

"I TOLD you he was a meathead."

"Of course he is. But he was remotely useful up until then."

Tara rolled her eyes. "Anyway. Now do you see how sweet Ron is? He didn't have to keep you company all day."

"He's still weird," Bonnie pointed out.

"I know, but that's what makes him Ron. And he's fun weird, at least."

Bonnie made a noncommittal noise.

"Well, you have to like something about him. You practically spent the whole day with him. You let him sit in your car. You thumb wrestled with him. And you let him get away with calling you Bon-Bon. You don't even let ME call you Bon-Bon."

:"And don't you get any ideas about doing it now, either," Bonnie added at once.

"What, so now only Ron can call you that?" Tara sighed loudly. "I guess I'll have to stick with Bionic Bonnie then…"

"You are SO not funny, Tara."

Tara grinned at her. "Who said I was joking?"

"I did, that's who. You're about as funny as Ron."

"So now you've got Ron on the brain? Is that why you asked if I was still crushing on him? Because you want your turn, Bon-Bon?" Tara asked, making kissy noises.

Bonnie looked away, her face red again. "Shut up."

Tara smiled and did so, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time they discussed Ron Stoppable in a positive light.

The End.

Look for the next story in this arc, The Primal Primate. Coming soon!


End file.
